John McCain

It’s normal, I suppose, for conservatives to be sympathetic towards any public official who runs afoul of President Obama. But it’s abnormal to do a 180 degree turn about the merits of such an official. John McCain, though, has executed a full 180 with respect to Chuck Hagel. Today, McCain defended the ousted Secretary of Defense. In response to White House leaks that Hagel was performing poorly, stated, “Believe me, »

Lindsey Graham is often wrong, but never in doubt. For example, Graham agrees with the Obama administration that the U.S. needs to work with Iran to help Iraq stem the tide against the current Islamist blitzkrieg. Graham told CNN, “The Iranians can provide some assets to make sure Baghdad doesn’t fall; we need to coordinate with the Iranians.” He added, however, that there will have to be “some red lines.” »

There was a time when I liked and admired John McCain. True, I still had hair on my head, and the calendar year began with a “1” rather than a “2.” And I’m glad McCain gave us Sarah Palin, even though I’m afraid she wasn’t quite ready for prime time, and may have actually ruined her long term political prospects. Still, to borrow Dick Cheney’s phrase about the Clintonistas in »

The Senate has confirmed Tom Perez as Secretary of Labor on a straight party line vote. The key vote occurred earlier in the week when cloture was invoked by a vote of 60-40. This, of course, was not a straight party line vote. The Democrats needed six Republicans to vote with them. The Democrats found those votes, mostly (but not entirely) among the usual suspects. Voting for cloture were: Susan »

I always expect the worst from Lindsey Graham, and he rarely disappoints. Today, Graham strongly backed Samantha Power for the U.N. ambassador post. But that wasn’t the worst. The worst was his statement that Power “will be a strong supporter of our close friend and ally Israel.” As I said, Graham rarely disappoints. I wonder what evidence Graham would cite in favor of his claim that Power, with her record »

Colonel Jerry Cadick’s recounting of some of his “ejection” experiences reminds me of a story about Ted Williams that John McCain told a group of us one New Hampshire day aboard the “Straight Talk Express.” McCain, a Boston Red Sox fan and (of course) an ex-fighter pilot, greatly admired Williams, who served as a fighter pilot in two wars. During a mission in North Korea, Williams’ fighter plane was crippled »

During his brief visit to Syria last weekend, John McCain posed for a group picture that reportedly includes two men who kidnapped 11 Shiite pilgrims in Lebanon. The two men, Mohamed Nour and Abu Ibrahim, are identified as kidnappers by The Daily Star of Lebanon. A spokesman for Sen. McCain said that if anyone in the photo was among the kidnappers, that is “regrettable.” The spokesman added that “it would »

Which side should the U.S. wish to see prevail in the Syrian civil war? For me, the correct answer has seemed to be: neither side, just as it was during the war between Iran and Iraq. A victory by the butcher Assad has never looked like a good outcome, and it looks worse than ever now that Hezbollah and Iran are backing him so strongly. But a victory by the »

Impossible to tell from here whether the North Korean boy prince Kim Jong Un’s belligerence is serious, a new attempt to blackmail the U.S., or some kind of internal intrigue to shore up his position against forces in the military or other elites that might think they’ve had just about enough of the Kims. The fact that we’ve sent over stealth fighters and bombers suggests we’re taking the matter seriously. »

What are Rand Paul’s biggest assets as he attempts to convert the GOP into an isolationist party? He has several, and one of them is John McCain. McCain surely is among the names Paul “didn’t need to mention” when he declared before CPAC that “the GOP of old has grown stale and moss-covered.” Paul also didn’t perceive a need to name the GOP policies he believes are stale. Instead, he »

Quick, what was the last speech by a Republican that energized the base as much as Rand Paul’s filibuster? Some may cite Paul Ryan’s dynamic acceptance speech at the 2012 Republican Convention. But the better answer, I think, is Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech in 2008. Palin’s speech was brought to us by John McCain, the same guy who now attacks Rand Paul for engaging in a stunt. In fairness to »